A March 2009 Update

It's calving time on the farm.

The first appeared a few days ago and by the looks of things there are a few more to come.

Stretch's mother could be next so we are keeping a close eye on her in case she runs into trouble like she did last year. Hopefully she will know what is happening this time around and will be able to look after her offspring.


We picked the Semillon on the last day of February.

Fruit quality was quite good with only the slightest hint of botrytis caused by the last few weeks of persistent rain.

Sugar level was 12.0 deg Baume and pH 3.3. And it tasted flavour ripe as well.

Can't ask for much better than that.

The Pinot Noir is not far behind as is the Tempranillo.

Am looking to get the Cabernet Sauvignon a bit riper this year, weather willing, so harvest won't be until April.

The Welcome Stranger

On 5th February, 1869, near the town of Moliagul in Victoria, two gold miners John Deason and Richard Oates dug up from under the roots of a tree, buried about 5cm (2ins) deep, the biggest alluvial gold nugget ever found. It weighed 69kg (155lbs or 2220 troy oz).
It was called "The Welcome Stranger".
They were paid ₤9,563 by the bank for it. In today's terms that's around $1.5 million which must have been a fantastic amount of money in those days. At today's gold price it would be worth $3.5 million.
No wonder both men quit mining, bought land, and retired to the easy life.
They had been, the day before the find, refused credit by the local store for a bag of flour they needed to supplement their meagre rations.
No picture or cast was ever taken of the nugget and the replica below is based on a couple of sketches made at the time.

Why my interest in all this?
There had been a photo of the event in the possession of my family as long as I can remember and I spent some time to seek it out.
It appears that the picture, taken by a local photographer at the time, William Parker of Dunoly, is a re-enactment.


The little boy standing behind the lady kneeling between the two miners with their crowbar and pick is my maternal grandfather.

South Coast Wine Show 2009

All three judges praised the entrants in this year’s South Coast Wine Show. Chief Judge, David Morris, said that while the number of medals was on par with last year, the standard was actually better. He said even the entries that missed out on medals were sound, well-made and were good, solid, commercial wines.

The whites continued to dominate with more than 50% considered worthy of a medal. While the number of medals awarded in the red classes was lower, David said the standard of reds being produced in the local region continued to improve, particularly the Merlots, Cabernets and Chambourcins.

He said the Semillon class, in particular, had been a "pleasure" to judge and the entries in this class were ‘superb’ and of world class standard.

The judges enjoyed the opportunity to meet with exhibitors and to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of individual entries at the Public Wine Tasting.

David said local winemakers were all very professional in their approach . It was particularly pleasing that there was an extremely low level of wine faults seen in entries; far lower than in many other shows.

Results Summary:

144 entries from 21 Vineyards & Wineries.

7 Southern Highlands Wine Region, 10 Shoalhaven Coast Wine Region, 4 South Coast Zone.

Medals awarded: Gold - 7, Silver – 21, Bronze – 44.

Special Awards:

Best Wine of Show
Best White Wine
Best Wine Made from Grapes Grown in Shoalhaven Coast

Coolangatta Estate 2005 Semillon (Gold medal)

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Best Red Wine

SHW 2006 Merlot (Gold medal)
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Best Wine Made from Grapes Grown in Southern Highlands

Cuttaway Hill 2006 Chardonnay (Gold medal)

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Best Wine Made in a Shoalhaven Coast Winery

Crooked River 2007 Arneis (Bronze medal)

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Best in Class [at judge’s discretion & at least 10 entries]

Chardonnay - Cuttaway Hill 2006 (Gold medal)
Dry Red Wine - Blends & Other Varieties - SHW 2006 Merlot (Gold medal)

The outstanding class performance had to be:
Class 24.5 DRY WHITE WINE – SEMILLON (any vintage)
1. Coolangatta Estate 2000 Silver
2. Coolangatta Estate 2001 Gold
3. Coolangatta Estate 2002 Bronze
4. Coolangatta Estate 2003 Gold
5. Coolangatta Estate 2004 Bronze
6. Coolangatta Estate 2005 Gold and 3 Trophies
7. Coolangatta Estate 2006 Silver
8. Coolangatta Estate 2007 Bronze
9. Coolangatta Estate 2008 Gold

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The Presentation Wine Dinner, where medals and awards were handed out, was held at the Vineyard Kitchen Restaurant at Cupitts Winery, Milton and was as usual a sellout.

The menu together with its accompanying medal winning wines was:

Canapes on arrival
Oysters with Lime & Chilli Granita
Sweet Corn & Pea Cakes with Crab Salad
Fig Tartlet with Prosciutto & Gorgonzola Cream
Centennial Vineyards – Non Vintage Brut Rose`

Entree

Prawn & Scallop Ravioli with Buerre Blanc Ciboulette
Coolangatta Estate – 2004 Verdelho & 2005 Semillon
Cuttaway Hill – 2006 Chardonnay
Blue Metal Vineyard – 2008 Sauvignon Blanc
Main Course

Rack of Tableland Lamb with Potato Puree, Flat Beans & Green Olive Vinaigrette
Southern Highland Wines – 2006 Merlot & 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Cambewarra Estate – 2005 ‘Simon’ Cabernet Sauvignon
Coolangatta Estate – 2007 Chambourcin & 2007 Tannat
Dessert
Passionfruit Curd with Clyde River Berry Farm Blueberries & Almond Sable
Cambewarra Estate – 2005 ‘Louise’ Late Harvest Chardonnay
then
Unicorn Brie served with Marinated Figs & Lavosh
Tea & Coffee

So all in all, this year's show was extremely successful. The committee now takes a few months off to rest before the organization of next year's show starts.

More detailed show results can be found by clicking on the South Coast Wine Show link on the side bar.

Hibiscus

When you have been down the beach for a swim or a walk, done all your domestic jobs and it's really too hot outside to get stuck into hard farm work what can you do?
Read, watch TV, surf the net, talk to your partner OR you can go Egosurfing (also called vanity searching, egosearching, egogoogling, autogoogling, self-googling) or simply Googling yourself.

This did not turn up anything particularly interesting so I decided to "do" my father and mother.

And there they were!

But not how I had expected.

Dad in his retirement became fascinated by Hibiscus, so much so he started hybridizing them from the hundreds of plants of this species that he had in his garden in Brisbane. He would take his small brush and collect pollen from the stamen of one and place it on the pistil of others, note book at the ready to document it all and little labels to hang around the stem of the receptor flowers.

Then if a seed did indeed develop, he would plant it and wait to see the result. Some were stunning, others not so much. He even stared hybridizing his own hybrids.

But when he got " a good one" he would register it with the Australian Hibiscus Society Inc.

And most were named after family members and some won prizes at Hibiscus shows.

So that's where I "found" him on the net. On the new data base on the AHS web site. And my mother was there too having had one bloom named after her.

After Dad died, I was approached by a few nurserymen who wanted any remaining seedlings and permission to take cuttings from the garden. I didn't know anything about PBR's (Plant Breeder's Rights) in those days so let them take what they wanted.

Who knows how many of my father's Hibiscus are in commercial production today!

But I also took a few seedlings and brought them home down south to plant out.

Being mostly tropical Hibiscus they struggle in our cool temperate climate and really have problems with the winter frosts. But I have them against a warm north facing wall and every now and again they produce a flower or two.

What they actually are will require a lot of research.

But the pics above are just two of them blooming in my garden yesterday.

And I still have huge volumes of photos my father took of his beloved flowers plus all the associated note books and journals.

So maybe one day when I have nothing to do I might just sort everything out and see what eventuates.

Bush Fires

December was a relatively cool month.

But then in January things changed and we have had some brutal summer weather, particularly in the southern part of the country, since then. The states of South Australia and Victoria have had days on end of 40deg C plus (104deg F) temperatures.

On Saturday 7th February in Melbourne it was almost 47deg C (116 deg F ) with 100km/hr (60mph) winds.

This weather brought with it the inevitable bush fires.

It was a disastrous day in Victoria with 209 now confirmed dead with the number expected to rise, with some estimates as high as 300. Many others are critically injured and there has been a huge loss of property including over 1800 homes. Some towns have been completely razed.

455,000 hectares have been burnt with devastating affect on wildlife and livestock.

We have so far been bush fire free in our local area. Temperatures have been in the high 30's but we have so far been blessed with sea breezes to take the edge off things. But there is a huge fire a few hundred kilometers to the south west of us that has been burning in inaccessible country for some weeks now.

South Coast NSW Update (13/2/09): We had a mild southerly change around 6pm on Sunday 8th February. Temperatures dropped by 10C and humidity rose.

It's now cool and humid with quite heavy occasional showers tending to rain.

The fire to the south west of us at Belowra is still burning but conditions are benign and have slowed the spread of the fire. We are in no immediate danger.

(click on above pic for more bushfire photos)

Meanwhile in Queensland torrential rain over an extended period has caused disastrous flooding, the worst in 30 years. In some areas it has been raining 40 days and 40 nights. It is now estimated that 60% of the state, about six times the size of Texas, is under water.

Australia is certainly a country of extremes.

A History of Bushfires in Australia.

Dec 30, 2007 - Blaze kills three truckers on a highway near Coolgardie in WA.

Jan 2006 - Three deaths and multi-million-dollar stock and property losses in 10 days of bushfires in Victoria.

Jan 11, 2005 - Nine lives lost in South Australian Eyre Peninsula bushfires.

Dec 2003 - Two women die as they try to outrun flames near Tenterden, 350km south-east of Perth.

Jan 18, 2003 - Four people die and almost 500 homes are razed in a massive firestorm in Canberra.

Dec 2002 - Two men die and more than 20 homes lost in bushfires that spread from rural NSW to ring Sydney.

Dec 2, 1998 - Bushfire claims five firefighters at Linton in Victoria. Dec 2, 1997 - Two die in bushfires at Lithgow in NSW.

Jan 21, 1997 - Three people die and 33 homes destroyed in bushfires that ravaged the Dandenong Ranges on Melbourne's eastern outskirts.

Jan 1994 - Four die, 200 properties lost, several hundred people injured as bushfires from rural NSW descend on Sydney.

Feb 16, 1983 - Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia claim 76 people.

Jan 8, 1969 - 23 people die in grassfires in Victoria across townships including Lara, Daylesford, Dulgana, Yea, Darraweit, Kangaroo Flat and Korongvale.
Feb 7, 1967 - Bushfires kill 59 people in southern Tasmania.

Jan 13, 1939 - Black Friday bushfires in Victoria kill 71 people and destroy several towns across 20,000 square kilometres of burnt land.

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Multi Media:

http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2009/national/darkestday/

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Photos:

http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/2009/02/07/1233423569062.html

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Interview with a survivor (audio/slideshow):

http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2009/national/victoria-bushfires-sunday/index.html

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Pictures in this entry come from the Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper (8/2/09 and 11/2/09 editions).

Australian Wine Industry Faces a Challenge

The Australian wine industry expanded at a rapid rate in the 1990's. But now if faces a great challenge ie. a 25% over supply of grapes.

To meet current demand and projected growth over the next few years the Winemakers Federation of Australia estimated that a 1.6 million tonne annual production is required.

In 2008 the industry produced 1.83million tonnes despite the drought, frost events and irrigation controls.

There have been significant plantings over the last few years which is continuing and it is estimated that the industry could produce up to 2.2 million tonnes.
This is an over supply of over 0.5 million tonnes.

(click map for enlargement)

But the situation is exacerbated by increased wine stocks. Due to the large 2008 harvest it is estimated that inventories are around 250 million cases.Total domestic and export demand is 125 million cases per annum and it is agreed that inventories should be around 1.5 times future sales ie. 195 million cases.So it could be that we only need a 1.2 million tonne harvest for each of the next 2 years.
This is highly unlikely!
And the result of all this?
Grape prices have collapsed and grape growing has been made uneconomic for a lot of growers in most regions.
Australian wine producers have been stuck at the bottom end of the market instead of moving up to the price scale to the premium end of the market. Competition at the bottom end is fierce and they are cutting each others' throats.
While all this is good for the consumer (prices are very low at the moment) it is not ideal situation for the industry.

Veraison 2009

It happens quite quickly, seemingly from one day to the next, and veraison (colour change) is here!
I noticed it today in the Tempranillo while doing my scheduled fungus control spraying. Am sure it's happening in the Pinot Noir too which I sprayed last week and I bet the Semillon won't be far behind. The Cabernet Sauvignon has a few more weeks to go being the latest ripener.
It was happening only in a couple of bunches but this suggests that it's time to think about harvest and wine making and getting all the preparation jobs that this entails done.
This means getting the bottling of last year's vintage finished so we have tank space, cleaning and maintenance of all the processing the equipment (crusher, press, fermenter) checking and ordering chemical stocks (yeasts, acids etc.), finding the bunch snips that always seem to get lost somewhere during the year, cleaning the collection buckets and laboratory equipment and last but not least making sure the batteries in the pH meter have not gone flat (a perennial problem!).

And it is now all the grape growers/winemakers in the region go against all other farming trends and hope for no rain, especially the long term torrential stuff, over the next 2 to 3 months. This will allow the grapes to ripen with undiluted juice resulting in high sugar levels and full flavour as well as no threat of berry splitting and resultant fungus attack. In the Shoalhaven this would be a one in ten year event so we don't hold out a lot of hope but one can dream.
And I am sure in the next weeks the phone will be ringing with other vineyards checking on my availability for picking.
The lazy hazy days of summer are coming to an end.

Frogs

We rely solely on rain water collected off the roof of the house and other buildings and stored in four tanks for our domestic water supply.

It is a continuous job keeping the gutters, down pipes and tank filters clean of leaves and other debris.

I have tried a number of "gutter guard" products all of which have failed miserably for one reason or another.

Of course there are numerous integrated systems but you have to be a lottery winner to afford any of them together with the necessary professional installation.
So now I am in the process of trying another DIY system.

Part of the deal is cleaning out the gutters and tank delivery pipes before installation.

As expected there were the usual group of resident frogs living in the pipes.

They took the disturbance in their stride waiting in a nearby tree until my job was finished.

No doubt they soon returned to their spring cleaned abodes.

Frogs are part of our world here. They live in the dams, in the damper parts of the garden and bush and even in the septic tank.

It is not unusual to find one swimming around in the toilet bowl having made the long journey up the sewerage pipe. These are completely white having had no exposure to light. Their presence in this location has caused some visitors a little concern and screams emanating from the bathroom can bring a wry smile to those "in the know".

I have found that a permanent flushable toilet cleaner keeps them at bay but then this reduces their entertainment value.

At times when moths attracted by the lights swarm over our windows, dozens of frogs suddenly appear for a feast.

It is quite fascinating to see them stalking their prey with their little suckered feet sticking to the glass and then suddenly striking with their long tongues.

The New Year

Not much out of the ordinary is happening at this time of year.
Farm duties are somewhat mundane with a continued weed spraying project, rotation of the cattle into various paddocks to keep the grass down, vegetable garden tending and of course vine spraying and green pruning.
There has also been plenty of reading, beach walking and sports viewing going on.
And there has already been a little bit of wine drinking as you can see from the side bar.
I mentioned there that the Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz 2002 was outstanding. We had this with a special New Years Eve meal. A wine buff should chase down a bottle or two of this.
http://www.brokenwood.com.au/wines/
I am happy with most of the 2008 vintage. The Pinot Noir is excellent, the Semillon passable and the Cabernet Sauvignon is still very young but has potential. We "lost" the Tempranillo rose' to oxidation. If all goes well I will be entering one or two of these wines in the Milton Show in March.
The 2009 vintage will be on us soon enough!

Summer has been a strange mixture on the south coast so far with hot steamy days followed by a succession of really cool ones and plenty of rain. I don't think I have seen the area greener for over a decade.
We have had a few good thunderstorms with spectacular displays of lightning and sometimes simultaneous wall shaking thunder. These have kept the water tanks full.
I had a wander around the garden today to see what flower pictures I could take to put in this entry. Not a lot around. One plant in flower however is a wild passion fruit. It has hundreds of buds. I put the camera on macro and managed to capture a bee coming in for a landing on one of its blooms.

And above is a pic after a thunderstorm a few days ago taken late afternoon from our front veranda.

Hopefully the pot at this rainbow's end contained a little bit of gold for us all in 2009.

Christmas Holidays on the South Coast

Most of the year we have access to plenty of deserted beaches within twenty minutes drive of us, the closest a few minutes across the main road. During school and public holidays there is an influx of visitors and we see more people on the beach. The "worst" time is the Christmas break where our population quadruples with temporary residents and visitors on summer holiday. Apart from crowded beaches, the roads are jammed with sometimes long delays, parking and shopping in town becomes a nightmare and prices increase. The normal lay back nature of the area seems to disappear with a more "frantic" atmosphere prevailing. I guess people from the city want to wring every second of leisure time out of their 3 -4 weeks annual leave. But when this translates into someone behind you continually bumping their cart into your legs in a supermarket check out line going nowhere it does test your patience a little.

We try not to be selfish and are greatly aware that the area needs this annual economic boost to get through the leaner times of the year. So we grit our teeth as we head to our favourite beaches and try to avoid the masses and their beach tents, umbrellas, beach chairs, screaming kids, football, cricket and volley ball games, kite flying, boom boxes, empty bottles and rubbish left as well as unattended dogs that crap everywhere. And why, when you do find a relatively secluded spot at the furthest end of the beach, does a family arrive and park themselves a metre from you? But it's only for a month or so. By mid February they will all be gone leaving all those tourist dollars behind. OK, have had my annual whinge and leave you with a video view of a couple of our beaches, pre Christmas holiday rush, and best wishes for 2009.

Lizards

There are five families of lizards living in Australia. These include monitors, geckos, legless, skinks and dragons.
By far the biggest family is skinks (Scincidae) which has well over 300 species in it. Skinks make up over 50% of all Australian lizards.
We believe we have what are Eastern Water Skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) living around the house. They grow to about 30cm (1 ft) long and eat a whole range of insects.
They have been breeding quite well over the years and are quite numerous and like to lie on the warm verandas, steps and footpaths especially in the afternoon. Once you are used to them (and know that sudden scuttle is not a snake), it's nice to have them around. They seem to be used to us too either completely ignoring us or pretending they are invisible when we step over them.

Yesterday some movement in the backyard caught my eye. At first I thought it was a small dog , cat or possum in the garden but then it "took off" when I approached.
It was a huge goanna or monitor lizard about 2m (6ft) long that had been eating a dead bird in the garden. He ran up the nearest tree, their normal defence mechanism.

I have seen many in the bush around us as well as racing across the road (or worse, squashed onto it) but this was the first one I had seen so close to the house.
The co driver was NOT impressed! But I thought she had been here long enough now to know about such things and did not keep it a secret (like the 3m (9ft) python I came across in the shed a few years ago).
Goannas are predatory lizards with sharp teeth and claws. They prey on small animals; insects, lizards, snakes, mammals, birds and eggs and are eaters of carrion and are attracted to rotting meat.
They are not really dangerous, preferring to escape than attack but when cornered can be a bit of a problem.
For more info (and a great picture) on Goannas click on: http://www.walkaboutpark.com.au/index.php?id=228

Surf

We were promised a 4 metre swell as the intense low pressure system that caused all our wind problems moved east over the Tasman Sea towards New Zealand. This would have meant some of the big wave breaks in our area would have started working which is always exciting. Many previous unridable breaks have now been conquered due to the advent of "tow in" surfing and it is amazing to watch these brave if somewhat foolhardy souls pull into some pretty big waves.

But it was not to be. The waves were a fair size but not the giants expected. The above video was shot at a place called "Guillotines" near us. Shallow and rocky but capable of holding a good sized swell this break is for experienced sufers only. A small group of board riders and belly boarders were enjoying themselves before the holiday crowds hit the coast next week.

Unseasonal Gales

An intense low pressure cell developed over the south east of Australia during the weekend and we copped some pretty severe winds.
Victoria bore the brunt of it but we on the south coast of New South Wales had 12 hours of westerly gales with gusts reaching 80km/hr at times.

There was a lot of tree damage in the area.
I did a quick inspection of my boundary late on Saturday evening when it was safe to venture out and found a number of trees down over fences.

The tree damage around the house was quite extensive as well. It was surprising to see some trees had been snapped off well up the trunk.

So this will mean a day out repairing broken wire and posts as well as cleaning up and piling for next winter's burn off.

Thankfully there was no house damage although there were some strange noises emanating from the roof during the day at the height of the gale.

Grape vine damage seems minimal with the odd shoot or two ripped off.

And all the animals are fine as well.

Turtle or Tortoise

The Eastern snake necked turtle or long necked tortoise (Chelodina longicollis) is a semi aquatic freshwater tortoise. It is distinguished from a marine turtle by distinct ankle joints and broadly webbed feet each with 4 or 5 claws.

I came across one near our upper dam the other day. First time I had ever seen one in our area.

The dam was almost dry so I guess he was off to look for a more suitable home. They have a reputation for travelling long distances over land.

They eat crustaceans, tadpoles, small fish and molluscs and find their food using their sight and their sense of smell.

To capture their prey they hold their neck sideways and then extend it, striking like a snake. They then swallow it whole, breaking up larger victims with the powerful claws on their front feet.
Their main predators are large birds, large fish and foxes.

To reproduce, the turtles lay about ten eggs each breeding season in early summer.

Obviously he was a a bit shy and hid well down in his shell so I didn't get to see his long neck.

And they can produce an awful smelling liquid when frightened or disturbed so didn't want to tempt fate too much.

But there are some great pictures on the net of this reptile and I have "stolen" one.

photo: © John Wombey

They are also apparently popular pets in Australia but I think I prefer to see them in the wild.

A Google View

Google Maps and Satellite have opened up a whole new perspective on the net. Street View, although considered by some a little intrusive, is also a helpful tool.
We have used all three to plan trips or simply find a store in the part of a city or town we are not familar with. We use the maps to plan routes and print them out so we can find our way, Satellite to check out places of interest and Street View to have a look at potential accommodation and the even the neigbourhoods it is in.


View Larger Map

Above is a Google Satellite picture of our area. You can zoom in or out and navigate around using the buttons on the top left corner. Check out where we live and even further afield. Almost the whole world is available with the swipe of a mouse or the click of a button. Have fun!

The Vegetable Garden

With the seven year drought seemingly over in our region and with the extra water storage installed we decided to resurrect our vegetable garden for the summer.
We buy heaps of lettuce, tomatoes and various herbs every week so we decided that growing these would not only save a bit of money (have you seen what's happening in the stock market lately?????) but more importantly provide us with very fresh organically grown pesticide free produce.
So it was a matter of spraying off all the weeds that had taken over while the garden had been laying fallow, digging it over, adding soil conditioner to improve water holding capacity as well as lime and blood and bone fertilizer.

We also decided that pumpkin, squash, zucchini (courgettes) and cucumbers might also be a good idea seeing they are easy to grow and are relatively disease resistant.

We also selected two types of tomato, capsicums (red peppers), basil and rocket (arugula)

and half a dozen different types of lettuce which we will plant every two weeks or so to ensure a continuous supply.

Naturally the weeds which had been seeding unabated for years think all their Christmases have come at once with the addition of fertilizer and copious amounts of water and are thriving just as well as the veges. But hoe-man (and hoe-woman) are keeping them at bay.

Of course we have to protect the whole area from kangaroos, possums, parrots and satin birds which means enclosing the area with a wire netting fence and covering it with some spare vineyard netting.

On our back veranda we also have a potentially good supply of rosemary, more basil, chives and oregano.

Skin Cancer

The co-driver and I went to the local skin cancer clinic for a check up. These dedicated clinics are springing up everywhere around Australia because the country has the highest incidence of this disease in the world. It is a lifestyle thing with outdoor recreation and activities being extremely popular. When I was growing up, surfing was my passion and the beach was my second home. We were baked brown by the sun continuously year after year. Protection in those days was virtually unheard of or even considered a bit wimpy.

As a result, for the last 25 years, I can't remember the number of cancers or pre cancers I have had cut out or burnt off my back, face and arms.

Here are some statistics:

-Over 380,000 Australians are treated for skin cancer each year. That’s over 1,000 people every day.

-Over 1,600 Australians die from skin cancer each year.

-Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Skin cancers account for around 80% of all new cancers diagnosed each year in Australia. Each year Australians are four times more likely to develop a common skin cancer than any other form of cancer.

-The melanoma incidence rates in Australia and New Zealand are around four times as high as those found in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Federal and State governments have made a concerted effort to make generations after mine aware of the dangers of unprotected exposure to the sun and have instigated intensive publicity campaigns that include:
The SunSmart UV Alert:

This is reported daily in newspaper weather forecasts across Australia. The alert is used to raise public awareness of the risk of exposure to UV radiation and to encourage people to adopt appropriate sun protection measures.
The Famous "slip, slop, slap" Campaign:
Slip on clothing that provides a barrier between UV rays and the skin.
Slop on sunscreen, 30SPF or greater
Slap on a hat that shades the face, eyes and neck.
Then added to this was
Seek Shade which is one of the most effective ways to protect against the sun's UV rays.

Slide on Sunglasses to protect UV rays damaging eyes.

All childcare facilities as well as primary and secondary schools throughout the country and numerous workplaces have adopted an ultraviolet (UV) radiation protection program to help prevent skin cancer. Recreational and sporting organizations also participate.

The top layer of skin contains three different types of cells: squamous, basal and melanocytes. Skin cancer is a disease of these skin cells caused mainly by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.

UV radiation disrupts the cells' genes and can cause them to grow abnormally. If these abnormal cells are not destroyed by the body's natural defence systems they can develop into skin cancers.

There are three main types of skin cancer named after the type of cells they start from.

Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are known as common skin cancers .

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer and is deadly.

So here are some pictures of the three types.

Check yourself out or better still get a professional to do it.

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Melanoma

The previous bad experiences have led me to take protective measures by wearing a hat outside, swimming in the early morning or late afternoon, covering up when working in the vineyards and even applying sun tan lotion (when I remember). But I was expecting to have to be "burnt" and cut up a bit more after this doctor's visit. But apart from a few pre cancerous growths getting the liquid nitrogen treatment on the spot all was good.

And the co driver got the all clear too!

Wine Faults

During wine evaluation by judges, they are not only looking for the good things about wine but also for technical faults. These are many and varied and mainly come from poor wine making techniques.

Below are a few of the more common faults and how they express themselves.
Oxidation: The most common wine fault. It is caused when oxygen comes in contact with the wine during vinification or is a result of poor sulphur addition management. Phenolics in the wine are oxidised causing a loss of colour, flavour and aroma which produces a so called "flat" wine.

Acetyldehyde: This is caused mainly by the oxidation of alcohol and imparts a sherry like flavour to the wine.

Volatile Acidity (Acetic Acid): This is vinegar taint and is caused by spoilage yeasts and bacteria eg. acetobacter

Ethyl Acetate: Smells like nail polish remover and is caused by the esterification of alcohol and acetic acid. It is a common microbial fault produced by wine spoilage yeasts. High levels of ethyl acetate are also produced by lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria.

Sulphur Dioxide: Sulphur is used as an additive during the winemaking process, mainly as an antioxidant but also as an antimicrobial agent. At normal levels (up to 200ppm) its presence is undetected. However overuse can contribute to flavour and aroma taints which are very volatile and potent. Over sulphured wine will be reminiscent of burnt matches, burnt rubber, or mothballs.

Hydrogen Sulphide: A rotten egg gas smell and is caused by the fermentation of wine where the grape juice has a low nitrogen content. This is overcome by adding additional nitrogen sources eg. DAP

Mercaptans: An onion and rubber smell caused by the reaction of wine components with hydrogen sulphide.

Dimethyl Sulphide: Imparts a cooked cabbage, canned corn, asparagus character to wine.

Cork Taint: Cork taint is a wine fault mostly attributed to the compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole or more commonly, TCA.

TCA most likely is the result of mould growth on chlorine bleached wine corks and barrels. It causes earthy, mouldy, and musty aromas in wine that easily mask the natural fruit aromas, making the wine very unappealing. Wines in this state are often described as "corked". Cork taint is said to affect 5% of the world's wine. It has lead to the development of a whole range of new bottle closures including synthetic cork and screw caps.

Generally when judges come across a corked wine they will ask for another pour from another bottle as it is not considered technically a one hundred percent wine making fault.

Brettanomyces ("Brett"): This yeast produces a whole number of off flavours and aromas in wine eg. band-aids, bacon, sweaty saddle and rancidity.
Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB): While LAB is useful in coverting the harsher malic acid in wine to lactic acid during malolactic fermentation, it can also produce wine faults. Wines that have not undergone malolactic fermentation may be contaminated with LAB which can result in refermentation of the wine. Wines then become turbid, swampy and slightly effervescent.

Diacetyl: This is produced by lactic acid bacteria. At low levels it can impart positive nutty or caramel characters which with some wines eg. Chardonnay, can be considered desirable. However at high levels it creates an intense buttery or butterscotch flavour and then it is perceived as a fault.

Geranium Taint: This is a flavour and aroma taint reminiscent of geranium leaves. It is formed during the metabolism of potassium sorbate by LAB. Potassium sorbate is sometimes added to wine as a preservative against yeasts.

Mousiness: A microbial derived fault which can become very apparent on the palate, especially at the back of the mouth, as mouse cage or mouse urine.
Refermentation: This is caused by yeasts refermenting the residual sugar present within bottled wine. The most common culprit is the standard wine fermentation yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The main problems associated with the fault include turbidity, a slight carbonation and some coarse odours.

Hazes: Of course there are a whole lot of protein and metal hazes as well as deposits (tartrates) that cause turbidity and affect the visual quality of wine (but not always taste) and are regarded as faults.